CN 2040: So Ugly, But I'm Not Going to Model It

Back in 2009, I wrote about how I found a CP unit so ugly I just had to model it.

During a recent trip to Fargo, ND, I came across CN Dash 8-40c 2040. It's also ugly, but I'm not going to model it.

Why? First off, it's CN, and I model CP Rail. Second, it's too modern for my 1990-1995 M & M Subdivision.

But it I did model modern CN, I think I'd want one of these on my roster. After all, I seem to have a thing for ugly and unusual units.

At least one person has modelled a couple of these unique units, albeit in a different "scheme." Ric Hamilton of Nova Scotia took a shot at modelling CN 2116 and 2121. I think he did a pretty good job. (Photos from the Diesel Detailer Forum.)

The units were part of a purchase by CN of 42 Dash 8-40c units from UP in 2013. A number of them entered service in spray paint, as in the photos above. Many have been repainted, as below--but not all, as my May, 2014 experience in Fargo shows.

Some background: The units were inherited from CNW by UP when it purchased that railroad and numbered from 9023-9064. When UP retired them in 2008 and 2009, they were sold to Citicorp Railmark and retained their UP livery and road number, with CREX on the cab sides.

Prior to being purchased by CN last year, they had been leased to CSX. (Thanks to Canadian Railway Observations for that information.)

As for my so-ugly-I-had-to-model-it unit, here it is, in all it's glory. And, yes, there is a prototype.